14" of fun: The official snowfall was 10.5" at MSP airport, but the north suburbs got closer to 16" and my neck of the woods got about 14" on the nose.
The snowblower worked great, both last night and this morning. The wind must not have been too bad, because there weren't really any drifts this morning. Good thing too, because the snowplow wake at the end of the driveway and along the sidewalk was bad enough. I've still got a little cleanup to do, but the really heavy stuff is done.
Oh: I loved seeing so many people out cross-country skiing today. Last year was horrible for them, so seeing their delight today is part of the reason I look at this big storm as really a good thing. I also guarantee kids all over Minnesota are finding somewhere to sled tonight. Good for them.
The widespread snowpack may hurt good ice formation in the short term, but if it cools temps down in general it might help to form some good ice for the next few months. We'll see. I've been thinking about buying some ice skates for the first time in about thirty years. Just thinking.
Panic: Mayan apocalypse: panic spreads as December 21 nears
Ahead of December 21, which marks the conclusion of the 5,125-year "Long Count" Mayan calendar, panic buying of candles and essentials has been reported in China and Russia, along with an explosion in sales of survival shelters in America. In France believers were preparing to converge on a mountain where they believe aliens will rescue them.
The precise manner of Armageddon remains vague, ranging from a catastrophic celestial collision between Earth and the mythical planet Nibiru, also known as Planet X, a disastrous crash with a comet, or the annihilation of civilisation by a giant solar storm.
I knew two people who were somewhat panicked at the demise of Hostess Brands. That's two more than I've found panicked about the end of the current Mayan calendar. Heck, I don't even know somebody who knows somebody who is panicked about it. My take? This is all foolishness. The world is going to end one day after I hit the lottery or become eligible for Social Security, whichever comes first. That's just obvious.
PSY can kiss my A S S: It came out last week that the Korean rapper took part in two protests last decade against American troops in Iraq. Well, free speech and all that, but the little punk, who it appears tried to shake his own compulsory military service but got nailed, might want to contemplate how long he and his pissant little country would last without America and American troops. Come to think of it, why are we defending Korea anyway?
Put Not Your Trust in Princes: Google outage today. Facebook outage this evening. Neither appear to be too major, but they are, in my humble experience, warning signs about relying too heavily on big internet companies for business or pleasure.
I'll never have my music or games only play from "the cloud." I'll never run or work for a business that is entirely dependent on access to "the cloud" to operate. To do any of that is foolish, but we are all being seduced more and more into doing just that.
An awful lot of modern living depends on systems that are surprisingly vulnerable to disruption. Our political and media elites pay almost no attention to it, being more engrossed in delivering self-important drama and bread and circus crap. But if anything is going to give us a collective smack in the gut in the next few years it will be a lack of hardened infrastructure instead of a lack of F-35s.
Gopher Fever: The University of Minnesota's men's basketball team has managed to rise to #13 in the latest AP poll. Will Tubby Smith actually deliver something for that $2,000,000/year contract of his? U of M Twin Cities students(or parents): How's that $40 per year that you pay him been working out for you? Will this year make it all worth it?
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